Never Forgotten
by Whiitewolf
Summary: Memories are forever, right? That's what JJ and Hotch think until Hotch is in a terrible accident causing him to lose the last ten years of his life. He has to come to terms with Haley's death and rebuild his relationship with JJ. Full Summary inside
1. Chapter 1: A Normal Morning

_This takes place about 5 years after the season finale. (With a tweak, JJ and Hotch were together before that)_

_Jack is 12. Henry is 9. And Sam/Sammie (Full name Samantha) is 7._

_Full Summary: JJ and Hotch are happily together and have been for a few years. They are married with Jack, Henry, and now a daughter as well. Things are going perfectly, too perfectly... That's when Hotch ends up in a terrible accident and when he comes to, he reaches out and asks for Haley. He's completely unaware he's been married to JJ, that he has a daughter and that Gideon left the team. This fic will show JJ and Hotch struggle to rebuild their relationship and show Hotch having to cope with Haley's death all over again._

**Author's Note: This idea has been something in my mind for awhile. It was originally meant to be for an original story and not fanfiction, but then I decided on this.**

**I hope you enjoy this! And thank you so much for reading!**

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To an outsider, the scene would have seemed fairly chaotic and out of control. However, to the Hotchner's, it was just another regular morning.

"Mom, you promised! No more ham sandwiches," Jack Hotchner whined as he peered into his lunch kit, pretending to gag in disgust. He lifted the sandwich by the edge of the bag like it'd been in something toxic.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," JJ said, now remembering her promise. "Here." She reached out to take the sandwich from him. "Is tuna okay?"

Jack nodded and sat down at the table beside Henry, whom was already stuffing pancakes into his mouth.

"That's gross," seven year old Samantha declared, pointing at Henry.

In response, Henry opened his mouth to show her what was going on in there.

"Eww! Mom! He's doing it again," Sam said, turning her head away.

"Henry, chew with your mouth closed," JJ said, now mixing mayonnaise into the tuna.

"Can I have tuna now instead of ham?" Henry asked, swallowing his pancakes much to his sister's relief.

Sighing, JJ nodded. "Bring me your ham sandwich out of your bag and I'll replace it." She waited. She now expected Sam to demand a new sandwich as well, but she didn't. Then again, she should have expected that. Sam had the same sandwich every day, faithfully. Peanut butter. Just plain old peanut butter. Why would that change now?

"Mom, can I have the peanut butter?" Sam asked, almost as if to clarify JJ's thoughts.

JJ nodded, setting the spoon down to reach up into the cupboard to get the peanut butter. Sam always put peanut butter on her pancakes. Sometimes she added jam. This seemed weird to her and she had no idea where Samantha picked this up, but she had.

"Mom, can I have two oranges instead of an apple and an orange?" Jack asked, his mouth stuffed full of bacon. Again, Sam cringed. Boys were so gross.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," JJ said in a lecturing tone, "and no."

"But mom! I don't like apples," Jack complained, leaning back on his chair.

"Mom! Henry's kicking me under the table," Sam said, her voice hitting a high octave JJ hadn't thought possible.

Before JJ had a chance to respond, Hotch was already walking in. "JJ, honey, have you seen my tie?"

"Which one?" she asked as she turned towards Henry to tell him off.

"The one that matches this suit," Aaron said as if that explained everything.

JJ looked over at her husband, eyeing his suit up and down. A dark blue tie... He had how many of those and he couldn't find them?

As if Hotch could read her mind, he said, "all the ones in the drawer go with a different blue suit."

Rolling her eyes, she finally finished mixing the tuna. "Did you check the laundry room?" Why couldn't he just use another? It's not like anyone could tell that he was wearing a different tie that didn't belong with that suit. Especially when they were near identical!

"I figured since you did laundry... You'd know if it was in there."

"Henry had it!" Samantha suddenly spoke up, her blue eyes going wide.

"Did not!" he said, shooting his younger sister a glare.

"Yes he did," Sam insisted. "He was using it for some sort of game."

"A blind fold," Henry muttered under his breath. He had used it to play Marco Polo out in the yard with his friends from up the block. They'd stopped playing when Jamie slipped over a root and hurt his arm.

"Where is it?" Hotch asked, turning to cross his arms at Henry, whom was attempting, but failing miserably, to whistle innocently.

Shrugging, Henry reached into his back pack and pulled it out.

When he saw that it was all crumpled and had something sticky on it, Hotch sighed. "I'll just go use a different blue tie. Who will know the difference?"

JJ flung around, fully intending to ask him why he hadn't just done that in the first place but he was already gone.

"Mom! He's still kicking me!"

"Henry, quit kicking your sister," JJ said clearly exasperated now putting the new sandwiches into little baggies.

"She started it!"

"Mom! We're going to miss the bus," Jack said in a panic, accidentally knocking his milk over to spill all over the table.

"Eww! Mom, there's milk on my pancakes!" Sam suddenly whined, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"Here," JJ said, passing Jack his new lunch and before she could kiss him good bye, he was already out there door.

Both Henry and Samantha only had a few minutes to spare until their bus arrived.

"Both of you, get your shoes on," JJ told them, now trying to wipe up as much of the milk as she could.

There were a few very peaceful seconds before...

"Mom! I can't find my other shoe," Sam said miserably, coming in with only her left shoe on.

"Wear a different pair," JJ said, not bothering to look up.

"But I want to wear these ones!"

Groaning quietly, JJ set the cloth down and tried to help her daughter look. It took her seconds to spot it. Raising an eyebrow at her daugher, she pulled it out from under her back-pack and passed it to her. "Now hurry up, your bus will be here any minute."

It seemed a miracle when both kids were finally ready and walking out the door.

"Bye mom!"

"Love you both and see you after school," JJ called out, watching carefully as they walked down the drive way to wait.

She watched both Henry and Sam until the bus came. After seeing so many cases, she was more careful than most parents. She tried not to remain over protective but sometimes... It was so hard.

JJ now only worked part time at the BAU. Sometimes, she went out on cases with them but for the most part she stayed home where she felt she belonged. A few years ago, she would have never thought it possible for her to step away but... She aimed to do a week on and a week off. Sometimes, cases didn't allow the luxury of that break but it worked out okay.

Her eyes flickered towards the mess in the kitchen. The dishes, food everywhere... All of it, but she paused to take in a silent moment. She wouldn't give this up for anything.

"JJ, honey?" Hotch asked her, breaking her out of her moment of peace. "Can you tell that this tie doesn't belong with this suit?"

Groaning, she turned to face him but instead of being annoyed, she laughed. This was her life now and she loved every minute of it.

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**Thank you to SpencerReidFan7, RogueStorm84 and michi1207 for reading this over for me!**

**And thank you to the countless others that helped me figure out this idea!**

**I sort of wonder how many times 'mom' was said in this chapter. XD**

**The next chapter will hopefully be up soon!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Accident

**Thank you for all the reviews I've received! **

**I'll be working on the next chapter, soon. **

**And I will let you guys know that while I have done my research, I may make some mistakes in the medical portion of this fic, but I am trying. I'm a writer, not a doctor. Sorry to anyone if you notice any mistakes in the regard!**

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"Mom! When is Dad coming home?" Sam whined, throwing herself down on the couch.

"Soon," JJ responded, stirring the mashed potatoes some more. She bit down on her lip in concentration while she added a bit more milk.

"How soon?" Samantha demanded, wandering in the kitchen. She inhaled. Dinner smelt wonderful.

"Very soon," JJ said, shooting a quick look to the clock before back down to the mashed potatoes. Some of these lumps just did not want to come out today.

"Like what time?" Sam asked, getting a bit impatient.

"I don't know." JJ sighed in defeat. Those mashed potatoes were as mashed as they were going to get. Still watching Sam out of the corner of her eye, she took the chicken out of the oven. It was always hard on the kids when Hotch was away on a case. He'd be home within the hour and each minute that went by Sam and Henry got more anxious. She could see Jack peering through the curtains every time a car went by. She knew that Jack often missed his dad but he was getting to an age where he tried not to show it as much. But it was in his eyes every time he spoke to his dad on the phone when he was away on a case, or when he said good bye to his dad in the morning knowing he wouldn't be home that night.

JJ empathized with them. She felt a twinge of guilt as she wondered how they must feel when she was with the team, too. She wanted to be out there putting the serial killers away and anyone else that shouldn't be in this world with her children... But her family was so important to her. Doing a week on and a week off work was getting difficult. Hotch had to pull special strings for her to be able to do that, and she knew she'd have to make a choice soon. But how could she?

A car drove by, and she saw all three children this time run to the window to see. She heard the groans of disappointment when the car kept going by. Hotch should be here by now, what was taking him?

"How much longer?" Henry asked, trying to see what was for dinner.

"Not much longer," JJ told him. "Go wash your hands." She gave him a gentle nudge.

Sighing, Henry went to do just that with Sam at his heels.

But she wasn't to escape the questions. Jack came in next, chewing on his lip thoughtfully. "How long ago did Dad call?"

"About a half hour ago," JJ said trying not to let the worry show on her face. It was only a fifteen minute drive. He said he was leaving the BAU... He should be here by now.

"How come he's not here yet?" Jack asked, watching the window carefully for any lights. He pressed his nose against the glass, narrowing his eyes to peer down the street.

"Maybe he got held up at work," JJ suggested not quite believing this herself. What was taking him so long? It wasn't just the kids that were anxious, but her as well.

Jack, however, seemed to accept this and he walked over to the counter. He reached into the drawer for the forks to begin setting the table. JJ smiled at him. Aaron would be here soon.

"We washed our hands, is Dad home yet?" Sam asked, cheerfully walking in the kitchen with Henry right behind her.

"Not yet," JJ said, letting out a small sigh.

"How much longer?"

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Aaron Hotchner sighed as he set the phone down. He shot a pained glance at the piles of paperwork on his desk but JJ had said the kids were anxious to see him. They were making dinner... And he missed them. The paperwork would still be there in the morning. It wasn't going any where.

Shooting the unwanted papers a quick glare, he stood up and slipped his coat on. His stomach growled at the thought of what JJ had cooked up tonight, and he longed to hug her and the kids.

His eyes flickered one last time to the work that would await him in the morning, but then he shut the door behind him and proceeded to walk down the stairs towards the elevator.

The entire time he stood on the elevator, thoughts ran across his mind. He thought of his family, his job... All of it. Nothing was ever perfect, but he was happy right now.

_"One day, you'll think of her and you won't hurt. You'll be happy." _

She'd said that to him, quite a few years ago. And she was right. However, neither of them had expected that it'd be her to make him happy.

A small smile touched his lips as he got into his car. He paused for a couple more moments, taking out the picture of all of them together from the visor. He remembered that day as if it was was yesterday. It'd been so difficult to get all the kids into their nice outfits, and to have them all smile at the same time... The first time they'd snapped the picture Jack had been giving Henry the typical bunny ears and the second time, Sam had stuck her tongue out at the camera. It took awhile, but they'd finally taken an amazing photo, though JJ still had the others developed. She said it expressed who they were as a family.

Aaron put the picture back where it belonged and pulled out his wallet. In there, he pulled out the picture of Haley and Jack. JJ knew that Haley would always hold a place in his heart, and she accepted this. This was a relief to him, as he couldn't imagine ever forgetting about her... But JJ was the one in his life now. And he did love her. Hotch tried not to get emotional as he put the picture back.

_"I want him to believe in love because it is the most important thing. You need to show him. Promise me." _

Minutes later, he was on the road. A quiet song played on the radio, and he checked his watch anxiously. It'd take another five minutes to get home. That was all. That was it. But yet it felt like so long...

When he lifted his gaze up to look back at the road, that's when his stomach did a flip. Headlights. There were headlights in his lane. Brakes. He turned the wheel. It was no use. The seconds it took to impact seemed like an eternity. There he sat, knowing that it would be no use. He was going to hit the truck and yet, he had enough time to think of JJ... and Jack, Henry and Sam.

During those seconds, he saw their faces clearly in his head. Fear. His breathing stopped in his panic. His heart... it hammered so hard it hurt. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. This wasn't real. They needed him. It wasn't his time to die...

He could hear her voice in his head, calling his name.

The last thing he heard was the crunching of metal. The last thing he saw was their faces. And the last thing he felt was pain. Not the physical kind, but the emotional kind. In that moment, he felt like he'd never see them again. And this was enough to call on the tears.

And then it came for him. Darkness.

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**Thanks to SpencerReidfan7 for looking this over! As always, she's awesome. Go check out her stuff. **


	3. Chapter 3: The Realization

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay guy. My hiatus has been taking over everything.**

**Thanks to Incinirmatt for the help with this chapter. Go check out his stuff. It's awesome.**

**And thanks to my awesome Twin, SpencerReidFan7 for just being supportive and giving me a few ideas. **

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"Where is he?" JJ demanded, flying into the waiting room. Her blue eyes filled with tears and Derek quickly stood up, worried she'd tumble to the ground.

"JJ," Emily broke off, shooting her friend a sympathetic glance. Her gaze met Derek's briefly before focusing back on JJ whom was becoming more hysterical by the moment.

"Where is he?" JJ said shrilly, her panic setting in. The entire time since she'd received the phone call, she'd had to remain calm, for her kids. Now that she didn't have to act strong for them the tears began to flow freely down her face. She had known something was wrong. She had felt it. And how was she to keep acting strong when he was...

"JJ," Emily began again, trying to calm down her shaken friend.

Groaning in frustration, JJ just pushed passed Emily, not feeling guilty in the moment and ran right into Derek.

He caught sight of Emily's face and realized there was no hiding it from JJ.

"JJ, he's in surgery right now," Derek said trying to sound soothing.

"How bad is it?" she demanded, "And don't you sugar coat it. Professional to professional."

"This isn't a professional thing. It's personal and-" Once Derek caught sight of her face, he realized there would be no arguing with her. "It's bad. JJ, they don't think he's going to make it."

She'd known it in her head, by the way people were acting but hearing it... All feeling in her legs lost, JJ collapsed and was caught by Derek and Emily. But she didn't even care. The tears came, and all she could wonder was how she was going to tell the kids.

Without thinking, she pushed passed Reid, not catching the hurt look on his face as he'd come over to hug her and she somehow made it into a chair. She had to see him. She had to.

Minutes dragged on creating the illusion to take forever. These slow minutes soon turned into hours. His condition didn't seem change. He was still... out. This was what the doctors told her any ways. They told her he could wake up any time but each hour that went by, the chances of this happening decreased. Still, she refused to give up hope. She didn't go home. She stayed by his side. Penelope was a miracle and watching Jack, Henry and Sam for her. The team took turns staying with her...

She'd tried to ask Reid for more specifics about the condition. He claimed to not know. He was a terrible liar. There was obviously just something he didn't want her to know.

_"Are you having doubts?" the voice had asked her. _

_JJ spun around to hear Aaron at the door. "Don't you open that door!" she demanded having seen the knob move._

_"Do you really believe that it's bad luck to seeing the bride before the wedding?" he asked. She heard the amusement in his tone. _

_"Ouch," JJ mumbled as Emily tugged the brush through her hair. "It can't hurt to be safe, right?" she said with a smile. "And no, no doubts. Not a single one." _

_"Me neither," he said softly. "I'll see you at the altar." _

_Stifling__ a laugh, JJ grinned. They weren't getting married at an altar, but she'd bite. "I'll see you there."_

_"Not even one tiny little doubt?" Garcia asked in amazement, thinking of her own reluctance to marry, as she dabbed a bit more blush onto JJ's cheek._

_"Not a single, tiny, little doubt," JJ said, her eyes already watering with emotion. "This is where we're meant to be."_

She didn't have doubts then, and she most certainly did not have them now. He'd pull through. He had to. For her, for him, for the team and for them... Their kids. Where would she be without him?

Two long, cold nights passed. Once again, like she'd done so many times in the past couple days, she walked into Hotch's room with her coffee in hand. This time, the coffee nearly tumbled out of her hand to spill on the floor. He was awake.

"Hotch!" she exclaimed running over beside the bed. She reached over to take his hand and he allowed this briefly before pulling back.

"JJ," he said forcing a tired smile. "Thank you for being here."

She nodded. "Of course, any time." The tears sprung to her eyes and had she allowed the profiler in her to take over, she'd have realized how off his actions and words were.

"I don't mean to sound like I'm not being grateful because I am, but do you know when Haley and Jack will be by?"

"Haley?" JJ choked out. Jack she understood, but why had he not mentioned Henry or Samantha?

"I assume she's been worried about me, too," Hotch said, not picking up on her tone. "Has anyone told her I'm awake?"

JJ felt the tears spring to her eyes. An overwhelming rush of emotions. He thought Haley was still alive. She felt sympathy for him, knowing the pain he'd soon be in. But did this mean he forgot her? What they shared? That he loved her? Her head swirled back to an earlier time. Back to their first day of marriage. And it made everything hurt, and she felt so confused... How could he forget her? What they shared? Did he honestly forget? Did he not love her any more?

_"I'll always love you," he said kissing her forehead. _

_"Promise?" JJ said, allowing the childlike plea to enter her voice._

_"I promise." _

"I'll be back," JJ said, forcing a quick smile before darting out of the room. Once she got to the bathroom, she collapsed onto the floor. What was going on? And the tears came, again.

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**I've just posted the first chapter to a smaller Jotch story, involving the pregnancy involving Samantha. **

**The story can be taken to be the same Samantha in this story, or not. Both can be read separately. It's called 'The Greatest Gift.'**

**Sorry for the short chapter. It had to be ended here. **


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